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Teachers seek more training days Diplomas 'provide cheap labour'
(1 day later)
Teachers are calling for secondary schools to close for an extra two days so they can prepare for the "overload" of new initiatives next year. Children may leave school with vocational Diplomas recognised only by school sponsors, teachers have warned.
The NUT is to debate what it calls the government's failure to prevent schools facing an "overwhelming burden". The National Union of Teachers conference has voted to oppose the introduction of the new qualifications.
Developments include a revised curriculum, vocational Diplomas, new GCSEs and A-level changes. It said the Diplomas - being introduced in England from next year - would go hand in hand with academies sponsored by employers seeking cheaper labour.
NUT leader Steve Sinnott said Education Secretary Alan Johnson was undecided when asked about extra training days. The government says Diplomas are one of the most significant educational reforms in many years.
Mr Johnson said he was "not minded" to bring in the extra days at the moment, Mr Sinnott told reporters at the NUT annual conference in Harrogate, where the issue will be debated. The NUT conference, in Harrogate, also heard calls for secondary schools to close for an extra two days' teacher training so they could prepare for the "overload" of new initiatives in 2008.
"We are going to try to persuade him. He didn't close the door completely." As well as the Diplomas these include a revised curriculum, new GCSEs and A-level changes.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson's department said it saw the Diplomas as one of the most significant educational reforms in many years. 'Weaknesses'
''We will make sure that every teacher who is asked to teach Diplomas will get the professional training they need and the time to do it,'' he said. The specialised Diplomas are being designed to involve a mix of practical and theoretical learning in a range of employment sectors.
Consensus
The biggest change is the introduction of the specialised Diplomas, which are meant to be a mix of practical and theoretical learning in a range of employment sectors.
The first five are due to start next year, in 145 pilot areas involving some 40,000 young people.The first five are due to start next year, in 145 pilot areas involving some 40,000 young people.
The NUT's head of education, John Bangs, said the rest of the country was due to follow but schools had little if any idea what they were supposed to be doing. Education Secretary Alan Johnson himself has said the Diplomas could go "horribly wrong" if they are seen as second best.
The conference resolution seeks to reform plans for the Diplomas, on the basis of "the broadest possible consensus" of teachers, governors, the TUC and employers. The NUT conference said the Diplomas "continue to exhibit the weaknesses of existing vocational qualifications" and the union should campaign against their implementation.
A proposal from NUT members in Coventry goes further. A spokesperson for the Department for Education and Skills said: "It's pure nonsense to suggest that diplomas will do anything other than give young people the chance to fufil their potential. "Diplomas will provide the missing link - creating the mix of vocational and academic education which we've lacked for so long and form a key part of our plans to encourage more to stay until 18."
It says the Diplomas being piloted "continue to exhibit the weaknesses of existing vocational qualifications" and the union should campaign against their implementation. A London teacher, Michael Davern from Southwark, said young people were being given just enough education to perform one job for the rest of their lives.
Mr Johnson himself has raised the prospect of the introduction of the Diplomas going "horribly wrong" if they are seen as second best. In Manchester, academies were being set up to produce workers for the sponsors' firms, he said.
"Imagine leaving school at 16 with a Diploma that is recognised only by the factory up the road."
Limited options
Coventry teacher Glen Mynott said teenagers would have a very narrow curriculum if they opted to pursue a Diploma.
"What will be the employment options for a youngster with a Diploma in hair and beauty?" he said.
Martin Allen, from Ealing in London, said the expectation now was that people would change jobs many times during their careers.
"Why would anyone want to do a specialised Diploma for four or five years?" he said. "I wouldn't."
The government has said it wants people to be in education or training to the age of 18.
The conference resolution recognised the importance of high quality school or college education for those aged 16 to 18.
But it said that unless work-based training was sufficiently well resourced, and properly rewarded, "young people will be exploited by businesses and used as even cheaper labour".
It called for an independent review of vocational education involving the education unions, researchers, employers' representatives and youth organisations.